AMD brings forward Socket S1, AM2 launches

Back on track to ship this month

AMD's Socket AM2 processors for desktops and its dual-core mobile Turion 64 CPUs will be announced this month after all, and not early June as previously expected. The Turion 64 X2s will be unveiled on 17 May, a week ahead of the Socket AM2 Athlons' debut on 23 May.

So claim Taiwanese motherboard maker sources cited by DigiTimes. Only last week, notebook manufacturers were alleging the Turion 64 X2 launch had been delayed until later in June. As we pointed out, that would have moved the arrival even closer to Intel's mobile Core 2 Duo - aka 'Merom' - launch in August.

We'd expect AMD to want to put as much time between the two mobile processor launches as possible, and the same goes for its new desktop chips. The desktop Core 2 Duo - codenamed 'Conroe' - is set to launch in July. Our own sources are pointing to a 23 May launch date for Socket AM2 and compatible CPUs too.

All the upcoming desktop and mobile processors will gain DDR 2 SDRAM support, at least at 667MHz and probably up to 800MHz. The dual-core parts are expected to support AMD's 'Pacifica' virtualisation technology. The Turions will use the Socket S1 interface, while the desktop and mobile Athlons will work with AM2.

The launch should see the arrival of Athlon 64 X2 CPUs running from 3800+ up to 5200+, all based on the 'Windsor' core. There will be single-core versions too, based on 'Orleans'. 'Trinidad' is the dual-core Mobile Athlon 64, while 'Taylor' is the Turion 64 X2 core. Socket S1 single-core Turions are codenamed 'Keene'. ®